Human capital is increasingly being seen as an issue of strategic significance in the industry today. It is this aspect of competition that provides most decisive elements of business advantage for a company by way of market responsiveness, process and technology innovation or enhancing customer experience.
A company can maximize the benefits from its human assets, when it is able to align and achieve congruence between individual and organizational goals. The challenge for HR experts in the organization lies in bringing about high degree of alignment so that the contribution of people in each and every activity along the value chain becomes a key differentiator in the industry.
High levels of performance and competence of people definitely provide a company edge over its competitors, but the second part of challenge for a HR professional lies in making this advantage sustainable over a period of time. This in effect means that people contribute effectively to fulfill the organizational goals – both now and in future.
Putting the two challenges together takes us to the core of most generic HR strategy pursued across the industries. The HR professionals responsible for crafting HR strategy should focus on gaining highest levels of commitment from the people towards organizational goals and at the same time building loyalty among the people for the organization. This then is most common and yet the most challenging theme of HR strategy today.
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
HR Is Key to Corporate Sustainability
Having observed leaders and leadership of all kinds and dimensions over many years, one success factor truly stands out regardless of economic circumstances.
Simply put, the best executives focus on outcomes and not themselves. They are “liberated,” in a sense, from their own personal ambitions but recognize that by doing so, they serve their own best interests as well as the shareholders for whom they work. The best leaders truly value human capital and the power and collaboration of teams.
The word “great” can be defined by any number of benchmarks. Still, those executives who check their egos are more highly trusted and the teams that they lead, assuming other common leadership traits of competency, etc., perform at very high levels. And, by definition, leadership requires followership.
Here is what The Koblentz Group has observed.
Every company says they place the importance of human capital at the top of their priorities as a true differentiator and one that creates strategic advantage. Yet, few, because of their leadership and the culture built around that leadership, act like it. And boards don’t focus on it, provide necessary vigilance, or make it an essential element in reviewing CEO performance.
Here’s an example.
In an informal survey that we conducted a few months ago, we asked 22 CEOs of mid-cap public companies a simple question. “If you were king/queen for the day, had to answer to no one, and could eliminate one function in your company, which one would it be?” Not surprisingly, 18 CEOs said they would eliminate human resources.
We found these results disturbing and profoundly shortsighted. The CEOs’ reasoning ranged from perceived functional ineffectiveness to CEO priorities in difficult times.
Three observations:
To us, this is a high-value opportunity for corporate boards to stand tall and recognize the import of talent management as a strategy.
Boards should recognize that their CEOs, to whom they entrust their enterprises, may be miscalculating the systemic and strategic value of the human capital function. What could be more “risky” than not having a respected dedicated resource to assure that their company has the necessary human talent to sustain itself profitably in the future?
Boards have a duty of fiduciary responsibility and it’s more than just basic care. It is about corporate sustainability. Constant vigilance over the managerial talent pipeline is a key board responsibility.
Even in unsettling times, boards must hold their CEOs’ feet to the fire.
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Joel Koblentz and Morgan Hamilton
Simply put, the best executives focus on outcomes and not themselves. They are “liberated,” in a sense, from their own personal ambitions but recognize that by doing so, they serve their own best interests as well as the shareholders for whom they work. The best leaders truly value human capital and the power and collaboration of teams.
The word “great” can be defined by any number of benchmarks. Still, those executives who check their egos are more highly trusted and the teams that they lead, assuming other common leadership traits of competency, etc., perform at very high levels. And, by definition, leadership requires followership.
Here is what The Koblentz Group has observed.
Every company says they place the importance of human capital at the top of their priorities as a true differentiator and one that creates strategic advantage. Yet, few, because of their leadership and the culture built around that leadership, act like it. And boards don’t focus on it, provide necessary vigilance, or make it an essential element in reviewing CEO performance.
Here’s an example.
In an informal survey that we conducted a few months ago, we asked 22 CEOs of mid-cap public companies a simple question. “If you were king/queen for the day, had to answer to no one, and could eliminate one function in your company, which one would it be?” Not surprisingly, 18 CEOs said they would eliminate human resources.
We found these results disturbing and profoundly shortsighted. The CEOs’ reasoning ranged from perceived functional ineffectiveness to CEO priorities in difficult times.
Three observations:
- One obvious result is that CEOs perceive limited strategic or operational contributions from the human resource area at a time when gaining efficiencies is paramount. This suggests that CEOs in time of turmoil center on asking their executives only “what can you do for me now” and consider planning for the future as a limited priority.
- Second, it clearly reflects a disrespect or disregard for human resources and that this has led to the denigration and perhaps the dismissal of the contributions of the human resource function.
- Third, we observe that few CEOs know how to gain benefit from human resources under any conditions and thus do not “invest” in coaching their key human resource executives to be effective in aligning talent to results. Expectations are too often fuzzy and thus are rarely achieved or noted, internally or among key stakeholder constituencies. This translates oftentimes to the human resources leader not being at the table when critical decisions and strategic moves are decided. And, in fact, this may be the reason that we hear that only 10 percent of talent development programs are succeeding as planned in an era where succession planning, from the board of director perspective, is top of mind and considered by many boards as a true enterprise risk.
To us, this is a high-value opportunity for corporate boards to stand tall and recognize the import of talent management as a strategy.
Boards should recognize that their CEOs, to whom they entrust their enterprises, may be miscalculating the systemic and strategic value of the human capital function. What could be more “risky” than not having a respected dedicated resource to assure that their company has the necessary human talent to sustain itself profitably in the future?
Boards have a duty of fiduciary responsibility and it’s more than just basic care. It is about corporate sustainability. Constant vigilance over the managerial talent pipeline is a key board responsibility.
Even in unsettling times, boards must hold their CEOs’ feet to the fire.
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Joel Koblentz and Morgan Hamilton
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why Blogging Matters to Business - Use Blogs for Information and Communication
The current revolution in personal writing and instant publishing is called blogging. A business blog is an informal, easily maintained way to regularly communicate with your customers and employees. Unlike traditional media that require lead time for publishing, blogs are frequently updated, often daily, online journals of opinions, information and links to interesting content online.
According to About’s Susan Ward, “What sets blogs apart from other online writing … is their dynamic nature (as opposed to static Web pages) and their voice (style).” The voice of the writer (or writers) of the blog, in a successful blog, is unique to that blog.
Blogging matters to business because blogging can represent your company in a positive light. Blogs can pinpoint employees you don't want to hire and help you do market research. Yet, blogs can also criticize your company and review your products unfavorably. You need to know about business blogging. There are eight reasons blogging is important to your business or organization - to start. Here are the first five reasons blogs matter:
According to About’s Susan Ward, “What sets blogs apart from other online writing … is their dynamic nature (as opposed to static Web pages) and their voice (style).” The voice of the writer (or writers) of the blog, in a successful blog, is unique to that blog.
Blogging matters to business because blogging can represent your company in a positive light. Blogs can pinpoint employees you don't want to hire and help you do market research. Yet, blogs can also criticize your company and review your products unfavorably. You need to know about business blogging. There are eight reasons blogging is important to your business or organization - to start. Here are the first five reasons blogs matter:
- A business blog is an informal, easily maintained method for regularly communicating with your customers
- A business blog is an informal, easily maintained method for regularly communicating with your employees
- A business blog can provide a "voice" for your company that educates and informs your website visitors
- The business blog is a recruiting tool for your company, and
- Your employees may also be blogging. You want to ensure their blogs do not give away company confidential or proprietary information, or trade secrets
Want three more reasons why blogs matter to business, including tips about blogging job candidates? Click on the link above.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Ad Network Bizo Makes Money in Business-to-Business Market
Bizo — pronounced biz-oh, as in business — is an ad network founded in 2008 in San Francisco that caters to the business-to-business market, in which businesses target other businesses rather than individual consumers. In a press release scheduled for this morning, the company will report that December was its first profitable month.
Bizo says its revenue run-rate is now more than $5 million, a sixfold increase over a year ago. The company also says its customer base quadrupled between Q4 of 2008 and Q4 of 2009, and its number of publisher partners has increased by more than 30. In addition, Bizo completed a $6 million round of equity financing in December led by Bessemer Venture Partners, plus existing investors Venrock, Vulcan and Ascent.
“We hit the inflection point where we have enough customers, enough revenue, enough partners,” CEO Russell Glass told me in a phone call. “We should continue to see profitability.”
One important component to Bizo’s positive balance: The company has landed many of the biggest B2B advertisers as clients. At the high end of the market, the money from any one deal is a lot bigger — potentially 20 to 40 times bigger — for the same amount of work
Bizo advertisers at the upper end of B2B spending include Verizon, Sprint, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Monster, Dell, Fedex, and UPS. But the company also serves the long tail of small advertisers. “You need to do both,” Glass said.
Glass also said Bizo’s recent $6 million in funding enabled profitability rather than hindering it. “As you get bigger and bigger from a revenue persepective, you’re actually owed more and more in the short term from your customers,” he said. “You’re sort of floating a short term load to your customers.” By using the funds to build out infrastructure and pay for bigger data bills, the company was able to secure and support enough business to be profitable. Sometimes you really do have to spend money to make money.
Bizo says its revenue run-rate is now more than $5 million, a sixfold increase over a year ago. The company also says its customer base quadrupled between Q4 of 2008 and Q4 of 2009, and its number of publisher partners has increased by more than 30. In addition, Bizo completed a $6 million round of equity financing in December led by Bessemer Venture Partners, plus existing investors Venrock, Vulcan and Ascent.
“We hit the inflection point where we have enough customers, enough revenue, enough partners,” CEO Russell Glass told me in a phone call. “We should continue to see profitability.”
One important component to Bizo’s positive balance: The company has landed many of the biggest B2B advertisers as clients. At the high end of the market, the money from any one deal is a lot bigger — potentially 20 to 40 times bigger — for the same amount of work
Bizo advertisers at the upper end of B2B spending include Verizon, Sprint, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Monster, Dell, Fedex, and UPS. But the company also serves the long tail of small advertisers. “You need to do both,” Glass said.
Glass also said Bizo’s recent $6 million in funding enabled profitability rather than hindering it. “As you get bigger and bigger from a revenue persepective, you’re actually owed more and more in the short term from your customers,” he said. “You’re sort of floating a short term load to your customers.” By using the funds to build out infrastructure and pay for bigger data bills, the company was able to secure and support enough business to be profitable. Sometimes you really do have to spend money to make money.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Have You Virtualized Human Resources?
Many HR organizations are trying to improve efficiencies in their day-to-day operations. They continue to place more information and self service options, including benefits on line to streamline the HR organization that will allow them to spend more time with customers.
So where do HR professionals spend most of their time? 25% on regulatory issues and changes, 25% on employee training although in the past year this has diminished to about 15%, coordinating corporate wide meetings and orientation about 24%. All of these tasks can be put online using web conferencing and employee self service. Many HR people spend time traveling and that time and money can be saved using web conferencing not to mention efficiencies realized by the team.
To conclude, if you are not utilizing the full extent of your technology in your company you are missing the boat. If you want to continue to be a leader and mover and shaker in the business you should be virtualizing your HR tasks as much as possible pushing the envelope with your IT department.
So where do HR professionals spend most of their time? 25% on regulatory issues and changes, 25% on employee training although in the past year this has diminished to about 15%, coordinating corporate wide meetings and orientation about 24%. All of these tasks can be put online using web conferencing and employee self service. Many HR people spend time traveling and that time and money can be saved using web conferencing not to mention efficiencies realized by the team.
To conclude, if you are not utilizing the full extent of your technology in your company you are missing the boat. If you want to continue to be a leader and mover and shaker in the business you should be virtualizing your HR tasks as much as possible pushing the envelope with your IT department.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Are You Linking Strategy to Operations Effectively
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding a new management system so if you have not heard about it here is a summary. There is also a course in Orlando on March 8-9th that will provide you with all the information you need on this key HR practice.
If you want to succeed in your position and continue to be a leader in the eyes of your CEO, you should install this process to assist you in out performing your peer competition. Here is a summary of the five key stages you should begin to think about if you are not already in full process use:
If you want to succeed in your position and continue to be a leader in the eyes of your CEO, you should install this process to assist you in out performing your peer competition. Here is a summary of the five key stages you should begin to think about if you are not already in full process use:
- Stage 1 - Develop a strategy using SWOT, PESTEL, vision, mission statements
- Stage 2 - Translate the strategy into strategic objectives and themes as well as target and strategic initiatives
- Stage 3 - Align your organizational units and businesses both horizontally and vertically to the strategy and cascade them through the organization
- Stage 4 - Align your human capital and employees and fully communicate the strategy and alignment of the organization to achieve the goals. Make sure you align the employees capabilities and competencies to the strategic objectives
- Stage 5 - Monitor, learn, and test the alignment to ensure adaption to the strategy.
I would encourage all senior level HR leaders to attend this forum in March. If you have not heard about it you can call 1-800-554-2111 or through www.thepalladiumgroup.com/masterclass by January 22, 2010.
Friday, January 1, 2010
How To: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy
Sharlyn Lauby is the president of Internal Talent Management (ITM) which specializes in employee training and human resources consulting. She authors a blog at hrbartender.com.
Over the past few months, we’ve talked about whether you should have a social media policy and what should be included in that policy. It only seems logical to discuss the next step in the process, which is what to consider when implementing a social media strategy in your workplace.
Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.
Determine Your Objective:
Luis Ramos, CEO of The Network, reminds us that creating a social media strategy is a complex exercise because “it includes not only looking inside the organization to establish appropriate practices, usage policies and content parameters, but it also includes looking outside the organization to determine the proper degree of engagement."
Figure out why you’re getting on the social media bandwagon and what you want to accomplish with it. This step is absolutely necessary if you plan to measure ROI or develop your own internal metrics tracking.
When General Motors put together their social media strategy, they had some specific objectives they wanted to accomplish. Christopher Barger, director of global social media at General Motors, outlined the following:
Developing objectives and a timetable could also prompt a conversation about content management. Ramos suggests including in the strategy the position responsible for updating content as well as the update frequency. “Many organizations have grand plans of updating content on a regular basis only to quickly run out of topics, leaving content to become stale. As a best practice, a specific employee is typically assigned to create and manage the company’s social media pages, so he/she can respond to messages and questions within 24 hours.”
Find an Internal Evangelist:
This is a constant source of discussion right now on the Internet, but the bottom line is, some department needs to “own” social media. Lots of departments might be consulted when it comes to decision making, but ultimately someone has to be held accountable for the outcomes.
Which department ultimately gets the responsibility could be dependent upon the size of your organization and corporate culture. For example, Barger says social media at General Motors is “owned within the communications team, reporting up through the Vice President of Communications, who reports directly to the Chairman/CEO. Social media leadership has a seat at the communications leadership table and acts as an integral part of the larger corporate communications function.”
Smaller organizations might not have that amount of structure, so responsibility might simply fall to sales or marketing.
Another option to consider is using external resources (i.e. consultants) for certain aspects of the strategy and internal resources for the rest. Barger explains, “We use internal resources whenever possible; given that two of GM’s main goals are to become more responsive to the public and to incorporate insight back into the organization, these are things we can only effectively do if it is our team who are engaged. We use agency partners for monitoring/measurement, for identifying new opportunities and new influencers for us to reach out to, for video production, and for counsel on tactics/strategy.”
Consider Your Employees:
This is a biggie. Organizations need to understand their employees’ level of knowledge and interest. Offer training. And one noteworthy item for non-profits is to think about your volunteer base. Diane Gomez, public relations manager for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), mentions that not only is PRSA staff involved, but volunteers are as well. “This includes monitoring and interacting with members (and nonmembers) who reach out to us via these channels, and is in addition to pushing out information of interest to our members.”
In addition to posting GM’s social media policy, Barger explains several things the company did to convey the company’s approach. “We posted a 45-minute ‘Social Media 101’ interactive training course on the intranet that gives employees the basics on how/why/where to engage in social media. Additionally, we developed a ‘201’ level ‘train-the-trainer’ course that introduces more complete tools and tips. Those who’ve taken this course are authorized to train others within their departments on the basics of social media.
Finally, we have an internal blog, ‘Making Conversation,’ that focuses on sharing lessons we’re learning through social media outreach.” Though she’s the president of a smaller firm, Crystal Kendrick used a similar approach with The Voice of Your Customer. “Our employees are very social media savvy and understand how to technically use the sites. We discussed the spirit of the policy and reviewed examples of ineffective social media policies. Training for our employees focused on the strategic and professional applications of the social media sites. We use ‘key word rich’ content, approved messages and in some cases, scheduled time for posting.”
Gomez added they are encouraging staff to participate in social media on behalf of the organization. “We are looking to establish an overall strategy that departments will follow when deciding when and how to use social media.” I’ve found many companies developing job aids, such as flow charts or decision trees, to help employees determine when and how to respond to blogs and inquiries on other social networking sites.
Check Your Tech:
While most social media doesn’t need a huge technology investment, you should still take a look at the technology capabilities of your company and make sure the system can support the strategy.
As Ramos reminds us, this includes making sure social media applications aren’t hidden behind firewalls. “Before any social media components are engaged, there needs to be an understanding across the organization of the following:
A lot can be learned by watching others. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on and offline so you can learn more.
Barger encourages companies to remember “that few ideas should be rejected out of hand; not everything is going to work, but in 95% of the cases, even if something doesn’t work there is value to be gained and lessons to be learned from the ‘failure.’ The only exceptions to this rule are efforts that would contradict the basic etiquette and/or rules of social media – transparency, openness, authenticity, and avoiding ‘pure traditional marketing’ plays, etc.”
According to Kendrick, “The first few weeks were a bit hectic.” Like GM, they began to share best practices among employees, identify expert users to follow and recommend connections. She notes, “We matched our target customers to the demographics of our connections and identified gaps in our networks. From there, we began to focus on making connections with persons in target companies, industries and geographic regions and joined groups and lists of industry groups to ensure that we maximized our exposure and business opportunities.”
Conclusion:
During 2010, more companies are expected to explore and engage in social media activities. While some might categorize using a social networking application as easy, that doesn’t mean developing a strategy is simple. Proper planning and execution is the key to integrating social media into your organization.
What are some other key factors in developing a social media strategy? Be sure to post your thoughts and ideas on this blog.
Over the past few months, we’ve talked about whether you should have a social media policy and what should be included in that policy. It only seems logical to discuss the next step in the process, which is what to consider when implementing a social media strategy in your workplace.
Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.
Determine Your Objective:
Luis Ramos, CEO of The Network, reminds us that creating a social media strategy is a complex exercise because “it includes not only looking inside the organization to establish appropriate practices, usage policies and content parameters, but it also includes looking outside the organization to determine the proper degree of engagement."
Figure out why you’re getting on the social media bandwagon and what you want to accomplish with it. This step is absolutely necessary if you plan to measure ROI or develop your own internal metrics tracking.
When General Motors put together their social media strategy, they had some specific objectives they wanted to accomplish. Christopher Barger, director of global social media at General Motors, outlined the following:
- Become more responsive to people/consumer audiences
- Incorporate audience/consumer feedback into your organization more quickly and effectively than has happened traditionally
- Make your brand a little more “human” to the outside world, and show people the smarts, personality and passion of the people behind your logo
- Increase awareness of the strength of your current product lineup, and provide perspective/accurate information about your company
Developing objectives and a timetable could also prompt a conversation about content management. Ramos suggests including in the strategy the position responsible for updating content as well as the update frequency. “Many organizations have grand plans of updating content on a regular basis only to quickly run out of topics, leaving content to become stale. As a best practice, a specific employee is typically assigned to create and manage the company’s social media pages, so he/she can respond to messages and questions within 24 hours.”
Find an Internal Evangelist:
This is a constant source of discussion right now on the Internet, but the bottom line is, some department needs to “own” social media. Lots of departments might be consulted when it comes to decision making, but ultimately someone has to be held accountable for the outcomes.
Which department ultimately gets the responsibility could be dependent upon the size of your organization and corporate culture. For example, Barger says social media at General Motors is “owned within the communications team, reporting up through the Vice President of Communications, who reports directly to the Chairman/CEO. Social media leadership has a seat at the communications leadership table and acts as an integral part of the larger corporate communications function.”
Smaller organizations might not have that amount of structure, so responsibility might simply fall to sales or marketing.
Another option to consider is using external resources (i.e. consultants) for certain aspects of the strategy and internal resources for the rest. Barger explains, “We use internal resources whenever possible; given that two of GM’s main goals are to become more responsive to the public and to incorporate insight back into the organization, these are things we can only effectively do if it is our team who are engaged. We use agency partners for monitoring/measurement, for identifying new opportunities and new influencers for us to reach out to, for video production, and for counsel on tactics/strategy.”
Consider Your Employees:
This is a biggie. Organizations need to understand their employees’ level of knowledge and interest. Offer training. And one noteworthy item for non-profits is to think about your volunteer base. Diane Gomez, public relations manager for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), mentions that not only is PRSA staff involved, but volunteers are as well. “This includes monitoring and interacting with members (and nonmembers) who reach out to us via these channels, and is in addition to pushing out information of interest to our members.”
In addition to posting GM’s social media policy, Barger explains several things the company did to convey the company’s approach. “We posted a 45-minute ‘Social Media 101’ interactive training course on the intranet that gives employees the basics on how/why/where to engage in social media. Additionally, we developed a ‘201’ level ‘train-the-trainer’ course that introduces more complete tools and tips. Those who’ve taken this course are authorized to train others within their departments on the basics of social media.
Finally, we have an internal blog, ‘Making Conversation,’ that focuses on sharing lessons we’re learning through social media outreach.” Though she’s the president of a smaller firm, Crystal Kendrick used a similar approach with The Voice of Your Customer. “Our employees are very social media savvy and understand how to technically use the sites. We discussed the spirit of the policy and reviewed examples of ineffective social media policies. Training for our employees focused on the strategic and professional applications of the social media sites. We use ‘key word rich’ content, approved messages and in some cases, scheduled time for posting.”
Gomez added they are encouraging staff to participate in social media on behalf of the organization. “We are looking to establish an overall strategy that departments will follow when deciding when and how to use social media.” I’ve found many companies developing job aids, such as flow charts or decision trees, to help employees determine when and how to respond to blogs and inquiries on other social networking sites.
Check Your Tech:
While most social media doesn’t need a huge technology investment, you should still take a look at the technology capabilities of your company and make sure the system can support the strategy.
As Ramos reminds us, this includes making sure social media applications aren’t hidden behind firewalls. “Before any social media components are engaged, there needs to be an understanding across the organization of the following:
- Who will have access to the sites?
- Are there any firewalls that would prevent access?
- What are the rules about time spent and content posted on the sites?
A lot can be learned by watching others. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on and offline so you can learn more.
Barger encourages companies to remember “that few ideas should be rejected out of hand; not everything is going to work, but in 95% of the cases, even if something doesn’t work there is value to be gained and lessons to be learned from the ‘failure.’ The only exceptions to this rule are efforts that would contradict the basic etiquette and/or rules of social media – transparency, openness, authenticity, and avoiding ‘pure traditional marketing’ plays, etc.”
According to Kendrick, “The first few weeks were a bit hectic.” Like GM, they began to share best practices among employees, identify expert users to follow and recommend connections. She notes, “We matched our target customers to the demographics of our connections and identified gaps in our networks. From there, we began to focus on making connections with persons in target companies, industries and geographic regions and joined groups and lists of industry groups to ensure that we maximized our exposure and business opportunities.”
Conclusion:
During 2010, more companies are expected to explore and engage in social media activities. While some might categorize using a social networking application as easy, that doesn’t mean developing a strategy is simple. Proper planning and execution is the key to integrating social media into your organization.
What are some other key factors in developing a social media strategy? Be sure to post your thoughts and ideas on this blog.
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